Buying houses directly from homeowners since 2020
Sell the house as it stands, on the closing date you pick.
No commission, no repairs, no showings, and no lender who can change their mind three weeks in. Start with the address, answer a few questions about the house, and we come back within 24 hours with a number.
Free, and no obligation. Nothing is signed until you sign it.
What kinds of houses does Clever Key Group buy?
Any condition, and most circumstances. These are the situations we buy in most often. If yours is not here, ask anyway.
You inherited it
Often in a state you do not live in, still full of someone else's belongings. We buy it as it stands, so you take what you want and leave the rest.
You are behind on payments
If there is a sale date on the calendar, tell us that date first. It changes what is possible and how fast we have to move.
There are tenants in it
We buy occupied. You do not have to end the lease, serve notice, or get the property empty before closing.
It needs work you are not going to do
Roof, foundation, water damage, a full cosmetic gut. We price the condition it is in, not the condition it should be in.
You are moving before it would sell
You pick the closing date. It can be after you have gone, or before, whichever leaves you with one move instead of two.
Divorce or a family split
This needs a number both sides can look at. Ours comes with the terms attached, so it can go in front of whoever else needs to see it.
Every purchase is as-is. That is what removes the pre-listing projects that cost the average seller about $5,400 in professional work, which roughly 65% of sellers take on at least two of before listing, according to research commissioned by Zillow using pricing data from Thumbtack. The cleanout goes with it.
Why do homeowners sell their house for cash?
To trade some of the sale price for speed, certainty, and no work. It is a real trade, and here is the side of it that costs you.
We pay less than the open market. That is the whole trade.
A cash buyer is not competing with everyone who wants your house. There is no listing, no bidding, and no month of exposure, so there is no price discovery, and the number we can pay reflects that. What you get instead is a number that does not move: no commission taken out of it, no repair credits negotiated off it, no appraisal, and no lender who can withdraw three weeks before closing. You pick the date.
It is a common trade. All-cash purchases made up 25% of U.S. existing-home sales in May 2026, according to the National Association of Realtors. Speed is the usual reason. The typical home spent a median of 29 days on the market before going under contract that month, per the same report, and a financed buyer then needs an average of 41 more days to close the loan, according to ICE Mortgage Technology.
If your house is market ready, has no tenant and no probate, and you can wait out those months and carry the costs of getting there, list it with an agent. You will very likely net more. We are the right answer when the timeline, the condition, or the certainty matters to you more than the last few percent.
How long each path takes to turn into money
Selling to us
7 to 21 days
Listing with an agent
About 70 days
29 days on the market
then 41 days for the loan to close
How selling to us compares with listing
The same house, two ways to sell it. These are the rows that actually move money.
Commission
- Selling to Clever Key Group
- None
- Listing with an agent
- 5.70% on average, about $24,500 on a median-priced home, taken out of your proceeds
Work before it sells
- Selling to Clever Key Group
- None. We buy it as it stands
- Listing with an agent
- About $5,400 of professional prep on average, and roughly 65% of sellers take on two or more projects
Closing costs
- Selling to Clever Key Group
- We pay them
- Listing with an agent
- Typically 1% to 3% of the sale price
Showings
- Selling to Clever Key Group
- One walkthrough
- Listing with an agent
- Open to any buyer with an appointment, for as long as it takes
Inspection
- Selling to Clever Key Group
- None. We do not come back for repair credits
- Listing with an agent
- Standard, and the price can be reopened afterwards
Risk of falling through
- Selling to Clever Key Group
- No lender, so no financing contingency to collapse
- Listing with an agent
- 5% of contracts were terminated and 14% had delayed settlements over three months
Time to money
- Selling to Clever Key Group
- 7 to 21 days from the day you accept
- Listing with an agent
- About 70 days: 29 on the market, then 41 for the loan to close
Sale price
- Selling to Clever Key Group
- Below what the open market would pay. You get the number before you decide anything
- Listing with an agent
- Whatever the market pays on the day, minus everything above
Where these come from. The 5.70% commission average is a Clever Real Estate survey of 533 agents, February 2026, applied to the National Association of Realtors median existing-home price of $429,300. The $5,400 of prep and the 65% of sellers taking on two or more projects are Zillow research with project pricing from Thumbtack. The 29-day median, the 5% of terminated contracts and the 14% of delayed settlements are the National Association of Realtors, May and June 2026; the 41-day loan close is ICE Mortgage Technology. Closing costs for a listed sale are a typical range rather than a cited statistic, and they vary by state. We do not publish a number for what we pay, because it depends on the house, and you get it before you decide anything.
What happens after you send the address
Four steps, and you can stop at any of them.
You send the address
That is the whole first step. No account, no credit check, nothing to upload, and no questions about your finances. If you would rather talk it through, call instead.
We put a number together
We look at the property, at recent comparable sales nearby, and at what the house needs. Someone from Clever Key Group calls you within 24 hours with the number and the terms that come with it.
One walkthrough
One visit, one time, to confirm the condition matches what we priced. It is not an inspection: there is no repair list, and we do not come back afterwards to renegotiate.
You pick the closing date
Closing runs through a neutral settlement agent, a title company or a closing attorney depending on your state, and they hold the money until the deed transfers. Most sellers choose a date 7 to 21 days out. We pay the closing costs.
Nothing is binding until you sign a purchase agreement, and some states give you extra cancellation rights after that. We tell you which ones apply to your sale.
Who you are dealing with
A real company, with a phone number that a person answers, and a name on the contract.
Clever Key Group started in 2020 as a small group of Charlotte real estate investors who thought homeowners deserved a dependable way to sell directly, without the financing delays and fall-throughs that complicate a traditional sale. We have since helped sellers in 33 states close without repairs, showings, or financing contingencies, including 45+ transactions in the last fiscal year.
The entity on the contract is Clever Key Group LLC. The number below reaches us directly.
Mon - Fri: 9am - 6pm. Weekend appointments available.
“We were in a slight rush to sell our home. They made us a very reasonable offer and could close quickly. He went above and beyond to make sure that the transaction went as smoothly as possible. The owner is a genuinely good man and it was a pleasure doing business with him.”
Questions homeowners ask first
The five that come up before anything else. The longer versions live in the selling guide.
How do you arrive at the number?
Recent comparable sales near the house, the condition it is actually in, what it will cost to make it sellable, and what it costs to hold it while that happens. We do not publish a fixed percentage, because it would be wrong on most houses. You get the number and the terms that come with it before you decide anything.
Do I pay anything?
No commission and no fees, and we pay the closing costs. What comes out of your proceeds is what would come out of any sale: the payoff on any existing mortgage, any liens recorded against the property, and property tax prorated to the closing date. Those are yours in a traditional sale too. Nothing is added on our side.
What if there are tenants, or a lien?
Both are normal. We buy occupied, so you do not have to end a lease, serve notice, or get the property empty first. Liens are paid out of the proceeds at closing through the settlement agent, which is the same way they are handled in any sale.
What if I change my mind?
Then you change your mind. Asking for an offer commits you to nothing, and there is no fee and no penalty for saying no. Tell us no and we stop, and you can reply STOP to any text at any time.
Tell us where the house is
You get your offer within 24 hours. No commission, no repairs, no showings, no obligation, and nothing is signed until you sign it.
Agents with a difficult listing: we work with you too.